So, I mentioned last week that we welcomed a new little gosling to the farm. Well, we couldn't have just ONE, so late last week we also welcomed a second little one to the farm! (I already mentioned this on FaceBook, but haven't mentioned it here yet...) I thought I'd share some photos of them, enjoying some time on my crafting table. Isn't that what everyone has on their crafting table?! *grin* The youngest one, on the left, is the second one we brought home. The oldest one, on the right, is the first one we brought home.

We haven't settled on names yet. But we do have some considerations... Loosie, Raspberry, Zerbert, Doodles ... do you have a suggestion?

This is the younger of the two. She (we're going with that until we know for sure) was about 3 days old when I took these photos. She's more like 8 days old now, and I'm pretty sure she has doubled in size. Ha!

They really enjoyed the heat from the lamps I had on.

I won't be able to take photos like this for very long, at the rate they grow!

So fuzzzzzy! So CUTE!

I'm not sure she could be any cuter.

Checking out the lamp.

Might as well just take a nap.

This is the older of the two, and is the first one we brought home. While both of them are very sweet, this one I think might be the sweeter of the two.

The younger one likes to be held, but this one WANTS to be held. And snuggle. And poop. *grin*

Side by side, you can see how different they look and they're only a week apart in age.

I was cleaning up one of my camera's memory cards and came across some video clips I took last summer. I thought I'd mash them together into a short video for you .... it just cracks me UP! Moose and I were just returning from a walk, and when we walked by the barnyard Callio-Pea was so funny! And at the end of the video ... *HAHAHAA!* She's so wacky!

If you're having trouble viewing the video here on my blog, you'll find it here on YouTube.

I put together a video to demonstrate just why we made sure our chicken yard was very secure... The images in the video aren't new, but some of them are new to YOU! *grin*

Video Description:I use a Leaf River trail camera to see what kinds of critters visit the chicken coop at night. Here are some images and video clips I've captured, of unwelcome guests at the chicken coop. The wire around our chicken yard goes all the way to the roof. While it may LOOK like there are gaps in the wire, that's only because the wire doesn't show up in the video. The covered (roofed) chicken yard is 10x10, and connects to a larger (uncovered) 30x40 yard. I shut the gait to the larger yard at dusk, to ensure no predators can get into the chicken house, or into the covered yard.

We finally got some much needed rain last night. Oooooh it smells so GOOD! So, since I didn't have to water the garden this morning, I took the camera around to see what some of the critters were up to.

If you have trouble viewing the video here on the blog, you can check it out here on YouTube!

Enjoy!

Oh, and I've added a link to my YouTube channel on the right in the Sassy & Sweet Stuff list. All of the farm videos are there for your enjoyment. *grin*

To all the mothers out there, and especially to mine, have a beautiful Mother's Day!

In the morning I plan to do a few odds and ends around the farm, and then we're headed to the city to have lunch with Alan's parents. Then, back to the farm to finish up a few more odds and ends. Supposed to be HOT, near 95. *ugh!* I'd better get some water on the garden in the morning!

I've got a cute little video to share with you. Brown Manetta (one of the Turken hens) hatched some chicks earlier this week. One of them got injured and didn't make it. Then, a couple days later, another chick hatched! But since it was days younger than the others and quite a bit smaller, it had a hard time keeping up with the activities. It ended up getting injured by another hen ... so I brought it in the house for a little extra TLC. Until it gets big and strong, we have a house chick. And just in time for Mother's Day! *grin*

Enjoy!

If you have trouble viewing the video here on the blog, you can check it out here on YouTube.

Here's the video I put together following this afternoon's storm. I'm sorry to have missed filming the earlier part of the storm -- I was so involved in watching what was happening! So, I missed the trees blowing sideways, tree branches blowing across the yard, the rain and huge HAIL blowing completely sideways. I'll be better prepared next time!

Here's a bit of what you'll see:BIG HAIL (at 1:10 and 1:45ish)My poor tomatoes and other garden plantsChickensThe new calf having a milkshake tasting contest, and a RACE!Rain, rain, RAIN!5 calves eating hayDash on postAnd more!

I went out earlier and took some quick video clips of the farm activities. The snow was really coming down, and still is! About 4" have accumulated now. Fun!

Enjoy the video! ...oh, and you might notice that there isn't a chicken to be seen! They were ALL in the coop. Sissies!

If you have trouble viewing the video here on the blog, you can see the video HERE on YouTube.

Happy Snow Day!

PS: For those of you with relatively slow internet connections (Mom and Dad!), start the video, then press the PAUSE button (the button with two vertical bars) and allow the video to download. You will see the download progress by watching the red/pink progress bar extend. Once the progress bar is almost complete, press play again. This will allow you to watch the video without lots of stops and starts.

Last night when I was out locking up the chickens for the night, I saw this Gulf Coast toad trying to break into the new bean patch. I have the raised garden bed that the beans are planted in wrapped with bird netting to discourage the raccoons, armadillo, cats, chickens, and dogs from making a mess of the newly planted bed. It seems to be giving the toads fits, too! When the plants get a little bigger, I'll lift the netting so the toads can enjoy bug snacks in the bean patch.

I ran to the house to get my camera to see if I could capture it on video. Not only did I catch one toad tryin' to bust in, but it's little buddy too!

We have lots of these toads on the farm. There are a few that gather under the pole light at night at the top of the driveway. They're REALLY fat -- good eattin' under the pole light that attracts all those bugs at night.

Here's a short video from earlier today, of the three older ducks that are in the feed storage side of the hen house in a brooder. You can hear the hens and roosters clucking and carrying on in the other side of the hen house, and you can hear the 6 baby chicks who are in a chick brooder at the back of the feed storage area, too. You can even hear Alan running the weed trimmer in the background. He's out working while I'm dinking around with the babies. *grin*

I took my camera out to the hen house this evening when I went out to collect the last of today's eggs. I collect eggs first thing in the morning, and then again around dinner time, to gather up any stragglers that were left throughout the day.

I noticed Luann was in a nest box "organizing" the wood chips and hay. She's a young pullet and hadn't started laying yet, so it was unusual to see her nesting. A few minutes later, I noticed she was displaying egg laying behaviors, so I started taking video!

Here's Luann, laying her first egg! And it's green! Poor thing -- check out her reaction after laying the egg... imagine her surprise when she realizes that she has to do it all over again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day....

If you're having trouble viewing the video here on my blog, you can also view it on YouTube.

On my last post I mentioned that one of our little ducklings has a bad hip. This is no good for a duck. As they grow, they can get too heavy for their joint to support them, and it makes for hard living as a duck.

Just in case something terrible happens, we didn't want our other duck to be without a friend. So yesterday, I brought home a third little duckling. And little is no lie! Here is a video of them enjoying some snacks, and their WAY FUN water container! They're so CUTE!

If you are having trouble viewing the video here on my blog, you can also find it on YouTube.

March 20th, we brought home two baby ducks. I made a video for you, so you can share their bath time! They are swimming in warm water, in a big plastic tub, that's sitting in a bathtub. Perfect for baby duck baths!

You might be able to see that one of the ducks has a bum hip - she kind of holds it out to the side, and a bit farther back than "normal". No good for ducks... more about this a bit later...

Until then, enjoy bath time!

If you are having trouble viewing the video here on my blog, you can also find it on YouTube.

I took the camera out to the hen house yesterday evening when I went out to check on the girls. They just crack me up! Here's a short video for you...

The gray hen in the nest box is "broody", which means she wants to spend her days sitting on eggs until they hatch. But, since I gather eggs daily, she's not actually sitting on any eggs. Crazy chicken. *grin*

If you are having trouble viewing the video here on my blog, you can also find it on YouTube.

Seems as though the ladies had a little competition today to see if they could beat
their score, and sure enough, they did! They have smashed their
previous record by 9 eggs!! I've collected 74 eggs so far today, and
the day's not over yet... there's still a chance that I'll find one or
two more eggs when I'm locking up the girls for the night.

Update on
today's count: Sure enough, I found 2 more eggs while I was locking up
the girls for the night. That brings today's total to a WHOPPING 76
eggs! I'm flabbergasted!

I went out to the hen house with the video camera today, and took some short videos. Enjoy!

Having trouble viewing the video here on the blog? You can check it out here on YouTube.

Soooooo..... Thursday night with the new babies went great! The babies got warm, and went to town on their food and water. Happy babies!

But... I told Alan I felt really bad leaving the other little bantam chicks at the store. There were only five of them, and remember - they didn't have very good heat until Alan fixed their light. We didn't recall seeing any food in their area either. Granted, chicks can live on the nutrients they get from the egg yolk, but if they've hatched and are ready to eat, they should be fed. We decided that in the morning Alan would go back to the store to get the rest of the bantam chicks. We just had to hope they survived the night.

They DID! When Alan got to the store, the light was where he'd adjusted it to, and they'd been given food. They all looked like they were doing well. He brought the five of them home, along with one more of the standard red chicks. (They require you to buy at least 6.)

They're all getting along well, eating great, and must be part duck as they LOVED to wade in their water dish. They graduated to a chick waterer today, to keep them from just standing in their water dish.

Yesterday I checked on the egg in the incubator. It was pipping (that's what it's called when a chick breaks a small area through the shell near it's beak). I made a quick trip to the post office (less than 10 minutes), and shortly after, Alan came home. He went to check on the egg, and she'd hatched! So I missed the whole thing! I had planned to create a hatching video... I guess we'll make plans for that next time!

I thought this chick might be a Peanut/Zippidydoodah baby, but turns out it's a Peanut/Edward Scissorbeak baby! So, she's a Mille Fleur (Peanut) and Ameraucana (Edward Scissorbeak) cross.

Shame on you, Peanut!! What will the neighbors think!?

But still, cute as can be!! Here's a video for you of the chick still in the incubator drying off. This video was taken last night. After she dried off, I moved her in with the other chick. Finally, a friend!

If you aren't able to see the embedded video here on my blog, you may view the video posted on YouTube.

We had excitement on the farm today, in the form of BABIES! Little Brown Barn Hen (LBBH) has been sitting on 18 eggs for some time...about 21 days, actually! And this morning, 5 of the eggs hatched!

One of the chicks didn't make it, but the other four did. Alan and I needed to move her and the babies to a warmer location in the barn. Unfortunately, LBBH wasn't interested on sitting on the remaining 13 eggs. Two of them had started to hatch, and we couldn't chance leaving them there with it being so chilly. So, in the house they went.

We also decided that we'd take the rest of the eggs too (that hadn't started hatching). They wouldn't have a chance for survival if mama hen stayed off the nest much longer. So, in the house they went... We put them in an incubator. I'm not sure how many will hatch, but we'll give it our best shot.

The two chicks that had started hatching were successful, and they're doing GREAT! The photo above is them, fresh out of their shells. Another one is working on escaping from it's shell currently, and I expect it to be fully hatched by early morning. So, that will make four chicks outside with Little Brown Barn Hen, and three in the house so far... You know how much I love chickens, and BABY chickens are even BETTER!

Take a look at how CUTE they are! You should be able to view the video here on my blog, but if not you might have better luck where it's posted directly on YouTube.

I can't even begin to tell you just how hard I've been laughing, for two days now! Yesterday evening, Tiny Tim started crowing. We've never heard him crow before, and it's likely that he's just now figuring out how.

The nights have been in the low 30s to high 20s, and that's just too cold for Tiny Tim to be out with the others, so we keep him in a small kennel in our utility room at night. I took this little video this morning, while we waited for it to warm up enough for him to go back outside with the rest of his chicken friends.

The little "hiccup" he does at the end of his crow is there every time! It's a stinkin' RIOT!!

Oh, and by the way, to make the entries about Tiny Tim easier to find, I've created a Tiny Tim the Frizzled Roo category - you'll find it over on the right side, in the categories section. Who knew such a crazy little chicken would have such a following! I'll get the other posts about Tiny Tim added to that category as well.

The video:

You should be able to view the video here on my blog, but if not here is a link to the video as posted on YouTube.

For those of you who would like to see a little video I made today of some random farm activities (basically animals eating and being, well, odd)... The little red rooster in the beginning is Little Buddy. He was sitting on my knee when I took the clips of him. The rooster at the end is a black Japanese Bantam. He's TINY! He might weigh 2 pounds. Maybe. But he's not the smallest rooster we have, if you can believe it!

If you have a slow internet connection (ie: Dial-Up), if you chose to view the file, it will take you a LONG time to download the video...it's 8mb! Sorry about that!